Anybody know about Klipsch

masanz1

I have somebody who wants to trade me a pair of Klipsch Forte II for a pair of my RT800i. I am looking for good speakers for playing music and was wondering if this was worth the deal. Any input??

RuSsMaN

I think you should go listen to them, and decide for yourself.

Toxis

that's by far the best advice. Take your own material and have a good listen. Personally, I think I would do it but I'm not 100% sure those are the speakers I am thinking of.

organ

First find out what year the Forte was made. They're still in production but a lot of people own vintage ones. A lot of the older ones need new x-overs available from Klipsch.

Listen before you trade. Klipsch is not for everybody.

One thing to keep in mind. They're BIG.

audiobliss

Go listen to them. Klipsch's heritage line has quite a following. I'd say they're great speakers, but it totally depends on what you expect from speakers and your ear.

Tour2ma

organ wrote:

First find out what year the Forte was made. They're still in production but a lot of people own vintage ones. A lot of the older ones need new x-overs available from Klipsch.

I was not aware that older Klipsch tend to develop x-over issues.

Agree about auditioning them. I guarantee that they'll sound different. If you like them, check out what gear the current owner has feeding them. With Klipsch it's pretty easy to come up with combinations that don't work.

george daniel

Tour2ma wrote:

I was not aware that older Klipsch tend to develop x-over issues.

Agree about auditioning them. I guarantee that they'll sound different. If you like them, check out what gear the current owner has feeding them. With Klipsch it's pretty easy to come up with combinations that don't work.

To me, they seem to sound less harsh with tubes in the mix,,especially a tube amp, less fatiquing on the ears, just my opinion.

masanz1

Since I have 2 pairs of RT800i, I think I will go ahead, after the audition of course. He sending pictures tonight so I will know more then

danger boy

my friend has the Klipsch Chorus II's. large wide floor standers...... i think they each weigh about 90lbs. 15" front firing woofer and 15" rear firing passive radiator. they handle bass well. and the highs in the older models like that seem ok to me. He's driving them with a B&K amp and a Onkyo 989 receiver.

*one of the front woofers has developed a tear in the surround.. the surround on the woofer is not rubber or foam.. it's part of the paper the makes up the cone.. strange to me. it's like an accordian.. and that's where it's become brittle over the years and has torn. sometimes you can hear the air passing thru it.

Klipsch has supposedly come out with new towers.. i was looking at their ad in the latest Sound and Vision. i'd like to hear em myself.

Tour2ma

Assuming both pairs are equal condition-wise, per the Bluebook, if the Klipsch finish is:
- oil stain then both pairs values are about the same;
- lacquer then you getting the better end by a good margin.

mhardy6647

The Klipsch "Heritage" speakers (Heresy, Cornwall, LaScala, Belle, and Klipschorn) are about as far philosphically from the 'heritage' Polk monitors (5, 7, 10, 12) as you can get. The big ones, of course are all horn loaded; the Cornwalls, ported; and the Heresys, sealed. They are incredibly efficient, and a bit of an acquired taste. They will mercilessly expose any flaws in program material or upstream hardware, which can limit their effectiveness for many folks :-) They are also, IMNSHO, a bit 'rough' or unsophisticated sounding... but they are undeniably powerful. The big ones (Cornies on up) really need a very large room to breathe in, and of course the K-horns must be in corners.

I have a pair of 1974 Cornwalls. They are very good for some things and they are excellent with low-powered tube amps. They are (IME) terrible with high-power, solid state amps.

The Heritage Klipsch speakers certainly hold their resale value! (course, the vintage Polk Monitors don't do too bad in this regard, either).

I know much less of the later Klipsches. The Chorus II's are said to be pretty good. Probaby the Fortes as well.

Here's the innards of one of my 1974 Cornwalls (AlNiCo tweeter and MR, CTS ceramic woofer). Note the rope caulk damping applied to the cast metal MR horn. This helps tame some of the ringing resonance of that horn.

Tour2ma

My bro-in-law owns Cornwalls. I have a sweet pair of Heresy's courtesy of Russman.

While they tend to be "bright", and yes, very receptable to tube amplification, they work well with many SS amps. However, throw a bright amp into the mix, and listening is a chore.

An old B&K I have mates very nicely with them. Bro-in-Law runs an old Denon.

dorokusai

I would like to have a big pair of the K to play with....I kinda miss my KG4's. I'm suprised to even say that, beings I have a general dislike for Klipsch normally.

BlueMDPicker

I have a Klipsch "****" lapel pin that I've found to be very efficient.